Here's how to turn your tablet into a productivity powerhouse

ITworld|January 29, 2014

Want to turn your tablet into a productivity machine like a PC or Mac? There's no need to give up power and flexibility just because you're working on a less-expensive, portable device. Here's how to do it.

Get the right tablet

If you want your tablet to be a true productivity machine, you need to make sure you first buy the right tablet. That means a good sized screen, and enough power to run what you want. So avoid smaller tablets like the iPad Mini and the Google Nexus 7 in favor of full-blown ones. The iPad is a good bet, of course. For Android tablets, the Google Nexus 10 is a great deal. And the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is also a solid bet, because it also comes with a stylus. As for Windows, the Dell Venue 11 Pro, and the Surface 2 or Surface Pro 2 are good choices.

Tablets typically won't give you enough on-board storage for all your files. But in today's cloud-based world, that's not a problem, because cloud services such as Google Docs, Dropbox, Box.Net, Evernote, and SugarSync give you plenty of storage. If you go that route, an even better bet is to use tools that manage multiple cloud-based services. Check out my blog post "5 great free tools to manage all your cloud storage" for all the details. ZeroPC is a favorite as are doo, hojoki, Primadesk, and the Chrome extension Cloud Save.